SYLLABUS BAD 84112
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Recommended, but not
required,Textbook: Kerlinger, Fred. N., & Lee, Howard (2000). Foundations of
behavioral research (4 Ed). New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
Class Schedule: TH: 1:45-3:00pm Room:
213 BSA
Instructor: Dr. Marvin D.
Troutt
Office: A426 BSA
Phone/Voice Mail: (330) 672-1145
Fax: (330) 672-2953 E-mail:
mtroutt@bsa3.kent.edu
Office
Hours: (by
appointment).
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are:
v
To
help students formulate a research problem and develop testable research
hypotheses.
v
To
help students develop research skills by learning the different research
methods and techniques.
v
To
introduce students to statistical software such as SAS and SPSS.
v
At
the end of the course, students should be able to conduct meaningful and high
quality research in their own field.
TEACHING/LEARNING METHOD
For
this course, classes will consist of discussions of major research methods and
techniques in a seminar format. Students and instructor will develop
presentations on two or more topics and students will prepare research
papers. Guest speakers and department
seminars will be used as available.
GRADING POLICY
Your grade will consist of four parts: a research project, two research
papers, four reviews of articles, and a grade for attendance/participation and
on-line discussions.
Course Examination
There will be no formal test in this
class. However, students will be required to turn in written reviews on
research and conceptual articles. In addition, students are required to write a
final research project of 20 pages.
Research Project
The research project consists of
writing a research proposal. In addition to an oral presentation of 10 to 15
minutes, the student will submit a written report of about 20 pages (excluding
references, title page and the table of contents page) to the instructor.
Grade Determination
Topic
presentations-two: 60%
Research
Project/paper: 40%
A=Excellent,
B= Average/Good, C=Poor
The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this
Course
A. Students
attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being
deregistered from the class.
B. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in
classes. You are advised to review your
official class schedule during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure
you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until
September 7, 2001 to correct it with your advising office. If registration errors are not corrected by
this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you
are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any
class in which you are not properly registered.
C. Academic
Honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent
the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests,
papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of
others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating
or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the
University.
D. For Fall 2001
the course withdrawal deadline is Saturday, November 3, 2001. Withdrawal before the deadline results in a
"W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be
calculated and reported.
E.
Students with disabilities:
In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented
disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course,
please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an
assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through
the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Service
Center (672-3391).
ADDITIONAL READINGS
RECOMMENDED
Kuhn, Thomas. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd Ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Campbell,
Donald, & Stanley, Julian (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental
designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Yin,
Robert (1994). Case study research. (revised edition). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Articles
and readings will be added as assigned.
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR COMPLETING THE RESEARCH PROJECT
1.
Select
a research topic.
2.
Formulate
the research problem.
3.
Do
a literature review.
4.
Formulate
research hypotheses.
5.
Develop
a plan (methods section) to test your hypotheses.
6.
Describe
the statistical procedures that would help you analyze your data.
7.
Expected
results from data analysis.
8.
Conclusions.
9.
References.
Organization of the research project
a.
A
problem statement
b.
A
review of appropriate literature
c.
Identification
of a critical issue
d.
Development
of hypothesis(es)
e.
Description
of methodology to be used
f.
Description
of data collection methodology
g.
Discussion
of results to be expected
h.
Evaluation
of the strength and weaknesses of the methods used
List the references you have cited by
alphabetic order of authors’ last name.
Underline the publication for books and the
title of the journal for articles.
Books:
Pfeffer,
J. (1992). Managing with power. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Articles:
Tsai,
W., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital and value creation: The role of
intrafirm networks.
The Academy of Management Journal, 41, 464-476.
Web
Source:
Fed
EX forced to accept partners law: Court threatened to take away its SFO office,
cargo building. http://www.shrm.org/hrnews/item1.html
NOTE: The report should be typed
double-spaced. Do not justify right margins. Every page should be numbered
excluding the title page. Use APA (American Psychological Association) style.